“[Without change], the ocean is expected to contain one ton of plastic for every three tons of fish by 2025, and by 2050, more plastics than fish [by weight].”

Even if recycled, the sheer number of them being produced means conservation efforts are struggling to keep up. What this all means is an imminent environmental crisis that some experts predict could be just as dangerous as climate change.

Figures show that 480 billion plastic bottles were produced globally in 2016 and less than half of those were recycled. Of those collected, just seven percent were reused as drinking bottles.

Efforts to curb the use of plastic bottles, and even attempts at instituting bans, have failed in the United States in the past because of what pundits dub “’big plastic’ influence.”

“Although plastic bottles are recyclable, many end up in a landfill and take up to 1,000 years to break down,” according to Clean Up Australia Day.

People sort plastic bottles for recycling at a reclamation depot in China.Getty Images

“When littered they often end up in the sea where they break up in small pieces, killing marine life that mistakes them for food.”

The organization reports that of all the waste collected by its volunteers, 10 percent of items are plastic bottles.

“By avoiding bottled water and refilling your own bottle you can help conserve virgin resources and protect our pristine nature,” it said.

The irony is that producing one liter of bottled water typically requires three liters of water, so the impact of our on-the-go drinking obsession goes beyond the end waste.

Experts in the United States say the crude oil required in meeting the country’s manufacturing demand for bottles is the same as the fuel required to power 1.3 million cars for a year.

Part of the blame for the surge in usage lies in China and other developing Asian nations, where education about water sanitation has seen the population move towards bottled water.

Anecdotal evidence also suggests a move to embrace “mobility” in all forms of life, and a bottle of water is a big part of that.